Posted By: sveta van gaal
Goodfellas - the sequel - 12/20/02 04:51 PM
NY POST/PAGE SIX...
THE sequel to one of the all-time great mob stories is on the way.
Gangster-turned-FBI informer Henry Hill just sold the book rights for the
follow-up to "Wiseguy," the true tale authored by Nicholas Pileggi that went on
to become Martin Scorsese's classic "Goodfellas."
Hill, a one-time soldier in the Luchese crime family who turned rat when he got
busted on drug charges in the early 1980s, has contracted with Manhattan
publisher M. Evans & Co. to write a book about his life in the federal witness
protection program. It will also relate his subsequent arrests on drug-related
charges and his adventures as a bigamist.
The tome, to be co-written by "The Outfit" author Gus Russo, also promises
plenty of flashbacks to Hill's violent heyday. "It's just in time," Hill tells
PAGE SIX's Ian Spiegelman. "Before I get too old. I've had 22 wonderful years
on the run. I guess I've got a lot to talk about."
The 59-year-old reformed racketeer - who married his girlfriend of 17 years,
Kelly, seven weeks ago - says the as-yet untitled book will probably take a
year to complete. A movie version appears to be in the works too.
"I just spoke to Nick [Pileggi] today and he told me he'd love to write the
screenplay," Hill says.
Hill has had no trouble staying busy lately. He's already put out "The
Wiseguy's Cookbook" and Random House is releasing "The Goodfella's Guide to New
York," which Hill describes as "a book about Sparks Steakhouse and where to buy
presents for your goumata and all that nonsense."
As a gangster, Hill was equally adept at robbery, assault, gambling, hijacking
and dealing drugs. As a straight citizen, he remains a renaissance man.
"I've got my own production company," he says. "We just did a nine-minute short
that VH1 is going to premiere. I've been acting, too. I've got four agents and
they send me scripts. I just got a call-back for รข€˜Providence.' All of a
sudden I'm a celebrity, but I don't know what that means."
While his former mob cohorts wasted away in prison, Hill says he's been trying
to give back to the community from which he stole.
"I'm under the auspices of the FBI. I do a lot of seminars, go to Quantico and
talk about organized crime and all that nonsense. In that life, I lived in fear
constantly. Today I don't live in fear.
"Sometimes I get paid but it's not about that. When I do it, I'm giving back
what was given to me, a new life. Not too many people get that chance,
especially where I come from. I was a s- - -bag for a long time."
THE sequel to one of the all-time great mob stories is on the way.
Gangster-turned-FBI informer Henry Hill just sold the book rights for the
follow-up to "Wiseguy," the true tale authored by Nicholas Pileggi that went on
to become Martin Scorsese's classic "Goodfellas."
Hill, a one-time soldier in the Luchese crime family who turned rat when he got
busted on drug charges in the early 1980s, has contracted with Manhattan
publisher M. Evans & Co. to write a book about his life in the federal witness
protection program. It will also relate his subsequent arrests on drug-related
charges and his adventures as a bigamist.
The tome, to be co-written by "The Outfit" author Gus Russo, also promises
plenty of flashbacks to Hill's violent heyday. "It's just in time," Hill tells
PAGE SIX's Ian Spiegelman. "Before I get too old. I've had 22 wonderful years
on the run. I guess I've got a lot to talk about."
The 59-year-old reformed racketeer - who married his girlfriend of 17 years,
Kelly, seven weeks ago - says the as-yet untitled book will probably take a
year to complete. A movie version appears to be in the works too.
"I just spoke to Nick [Pileggi] today and he told me he'd love to write the
screenplay," Hill says.
Hill has had no trouble staying busy lately. He's already put out "The
Wiseguy's Cookbook" and Random House is releasing "The Goodfella's Guide to New
York," which Hill describes as "a book about Sparks Steakhouse and where to buy
presents for your goumata and all that nonsense."
As a gangster, Hill was equally adept at robbery, assault, gambling, hijacking
and dealing drugs. As a straight citizen, he remains a renaissance man.
"I've got my own production company," he says. "We just did a nine-minute short
that VH1 is going to premiere. I've been acting, too. I've got four agents and
they send me scripts. I just got a call-back for รข€˜Providence.' All of a
sudden I'm a celebrity, but I don't know what that means."
While his former mob cohorts wasted away in prison, Hill says he's been trying
to give back to the community from which he stole.
"I'm under the auspices of the FBI. I do a lot of seminars, go to Quantico and
talk about organized crime and all that nonsense. In that life, I lived in fear
constantly. Today I don't live in fear.
"Sometimes I get paid but it's not about that. When I do it, I'm giving back
what was given to me, a new life. Not too many people get that chance,
especially where I come from. I was a s- - -bag for a long time."
